Drivers’ hours and tachograph offences led to Prestonpans, East Lothian-based Edward T Clark, trading as Eddie’s Minibus Hire, being banned from holding or obtaining a PSV O-Licence or acting as a Transport Manager (TM) for 10 years after his six-vehicle licence was revoked by Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Hugh Olson.
In addition the DTC disqualified the second TM on the licence Mary Montague for three years after when she would have to re-qualify.
Six drivers employed by Mr Clark had their PCV driving entitlement suspended for between two and 16 weeks. Mr Clark’s PCV driving entitlement was suspended for three weeks.
Traffic Examiner (TE) Barry Wardrop told an Edinburgh Public Inquiry that Mr Clark said Ms Montague came down “about 20 hours a year if he was lucky.” There were significant failings in downloading vehicle tachograph units, downloading driver cards only every couple of months, with inadequate analysis. Ms Montague told him that she had not spoken to Mr Clark for at least four years.
An DVSA analysis revealed 94 suspected offences: Four of knowingly making a false record; nine of insufficient weekly rest; 55 of insufficient daily rest; four of exceeding 10 hours daily driving; 12 of driving with no card; three of exceeding 4.5hrs driving; and seven of insufficient daily rest.
Mr Clark said when he took over the business in 2006 he had taken on the TM, Mary Montague. The extent of the guidance from her was that she simply told him that if he was ever in need of any assistance, he should make contact. The agreement was that he would pay her by providing her with transport when she needed it.
Mr Clark accepted that no-one had been fulfilling the TM role for 10 years. He accepted that he had completed documents for the Office of the Traffic Commissioner – such as to increase in the number of vehicles in July 2014 – where he said he had an external TM and signed a declaration that the statement was true. On 6 June 2016 he completed a Licence Checklist where he declared that Mary Montague was his TM.
The DTC said that in the three months to 30 June Mr Clark and his drivers breached hours rules on nearly 100 occasions and, on many occasions, there were multiple breaches.
Mary Montague was a TM in name only. For over 10 years Mr Clark deceived the OTC by pretending that he had a TM when he did not. Mary Montague had allowed her name to be used to enable Mr Clark to obtain an O-Licence when he was not entitled to have one.
